Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti
Zimbabwe does not have the $400 million needed to organise elections this year, Finance minister Tendai Biti has said. Mr Biti said the coalition government also faces a $150 million deficit this year because it had missed all revenue targets with almost half the year gone.
The government has set a revenue target of $2.7 billion this year, but the economy has performed poorly due to the unstable political environment. President Robert Mugabe says he wants an early election because he has failed to work with his rivals in a coalition government formed in 2009 following his disputed re-election a year earlier.
“The economy cannot sustain an election,” Mr Biti told journalists in Harare. “The budget we have has remained static.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has submitted a budget of $400 million. “Where do I get that kind of money when I am looking for $150 million to fund the budget deficit if the revenues remain as they are?”
Full Article: Daily Nation: – Africa |Zimbabwe too broke to organise elections this year.